Who’s to blame?

You’ve heard the old adage about pebbles thrown in a pond which create ripples that become tidal waves, right? Everyone has been talking about Stephan Patry’s ill fated Strikebox event as the pebble which may derail UFC 98 from happening in Montreal. But the real story might be a lot simpler: the formerly MMA-friendly Regie des Courses et des Jeux (there’s no English name, because fuck English people in Quebec, right???) is going through a leadership change, and the new head goombah is a fucking tool:

Though Thériault acknowledges that the Strikebox/Titans fiasco played a role in what appears to be a sudden adherence to the rules on hand, he said the decision has already been in the works for some time.

“[The Strikebox scenario] was an important part of getting us to this point, but Richard Renaud [Director of the Division of Combat Sports in the RACJ], who is replacing Mario LaTraverse, has been working with the President of the RACJ, Denis Racicot to change the sport, and noted that we had tolerated the [past] rules,” Thériault said.

Ratner believes LaTraverse’s retirement from the commission has also played a role in the recent events, but sees a positive outcome on the horizon.

“We’re aware of the situation and working with [the RACJ and the Quebec Boxing Commission] to resolve the situation,” Ratner told Sherdog.com on Thursday. “I’m confident that this will all work out.”

As much as everyone is shitting on Stephan Patry right now, he is not an incompetent dude. When the Strikebox thing went down, I wondered if the RACJ hadn’t fucked him over. Now the RACJ is trying to fuck the UFC over, and it makes me think that there’s been a serious attitude change in the commission towards our sport.

Was this because of Strikebox? Or is it because some kid almost died in Winnipeg last weekend from a bleeding brain? Or is the new fat beurocrat in charge of the RACJ just anti-MMA? It could be one or two or all three. But this just goes to show you how fast things can change when fuckhead government people get involved. Montreal is the fight mecca of the north. If the RACJ neuters the sport, that’s really fucking bad.